Student and graduate references

You are advised to request a reference from your Personal Tutor or Supervisor, as they are best placed to provide this information. You must seek agreement from the member of staff in advance of naming them as a referee in any application.

For full guidance see the References for employment or further study article in Ask4Help Online on your Student Portal.

 

 

Once you leave Northumbria, you will no longer have access to your Student Portal. This section covers what you need to know about references after leaving Northumbria.

 

Approaching a former Personal Tutor or Supervisor

You can still ask your former Personal Tutor or Supervisor to act as a referee, and this is usually your best first option. Always ask their agreement before naming them on an application – do not assume an earlier informal offer still stands and ask again for each new application you make.

Bear in mind this is not always possible; your former tutor or supervisor may no longer work at Northumbria or may not always be available to help. An example email requesting support:

Subject: Reference request – [Job title / Course name] application

Hi [Name],

I hope you are doing well. I graduated from (or studied at) Northumbria in [month/year], having studied [programme name] – you were my Personal Tutor/Supervisor during my time there [add any detail that will jog their memory, e.g. "and supervised my final-year dissertation on [topic]"].

I am currently applying for [job title at Company / course at University], with a deadline of [date], and I would really appreciate it if you would be willing to act as one of my referees.

A bit of context on the role/course: [one or two lines – what it involves, why you are applying].

If you are happy to help, the reference request will likely come as [an online form / email link] sent to [email address] – I will let you know as soon as it has been sent. I am also happy to send over my CV, personal statement, or a reminder of my dissertation/project work if that would help.

Please let me know if you are able to help, or if it is not something you are able to take on at the moment – either way, thank you for considering it.

Best wishes,

[Name]

[Student ID, if known]

[Contact email/phone]

Your consent for them to respond to a reference request should be given in writing (for example, by email) and should cover that specific request only – naming the employer or institution and the role or course you are applying for. An earlier reference, or an earlier informal offer to help, does not carry over to a new application; ask again, and provide them with fresh written consent, each time.

 

If you cannot name a staff member

If you are unable to obtain agreement from a former Personal Tutor or Supervisor, Northumbria can still confirm factual information about your studies, through one of the following:

• Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR): a detailed record of your programme, including modules studied, marks and classification obtained, and the skills you developed. You can share this securely with an employer or institution using an access token. Please see our HEAR web page containing information for Northumbria Graduates for how to request and share yours.
• Award Verification: if an employer, agency, or embassy needs to verify your award directly, they can do this through Prospects Hedd, confirming your name, qualification, course, year of award, classification, and dates of attendance.
• Certificates: details of the certified documents available to purchase can be found on our Certificates web page.

Tell the employer or institution which route you are using as soon as they request references, so they know what to expect.

 

Applying overseas

If you are applying for a job or course outside the UK, check early whether the organisation expects a different reference format, and build in extra time for time differences to avoid delays. If they will accept a verification document instead of a personal reference, Prospects Hedd verification is generally recognised internationally – but check with them directly if you are unsure.

 

Reference visibility

A reference given in confidence for employment, education, or training purposes is generally exempt from disclosure under a Subject Access Request (SAR) – so you may not be able to see a copy of your reference, even if you ask. Please see our Subject Access Request web page for more detail.

 

Where to go for help

If you need further help with this, please contact Graduate Futures, the University's careers and employment service..

We appreciate that a personal reference is always the preferred option, but this is not always possible. In these circumstances, the options available to you are:

• Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR): a detailed record of a student or graduate's programme, including modules studied, marks obtained, award classification, and the skills developed. This can be shared securely with you using an access token – please see our Higher Education Achievement Report web page for full detail. Northumbria students or graduates applying for your vacancies should be directed to this page if they cannot provide a named referee.
• Award Verification: if you need to verify a Northumbria student or graduate's attendance or award directly, you can do this through Prospects Hedd, which confirms their name, qualification type, course name, year of award, classification, and dates of attendance. If you have any concerns about the authenticity of a reference, or want to independently verify a candidate's qualification details, this can be confirmed directly through Prospects Hedd rather than relying solely on the documentation provided to you.
• Certificates: details of the certified documents available to purchase can be found on our Certificates web page.

If you are considering an application from a Northumbria student or graduate for transfer or further study, the same principles apply. The applicant should first attempt to secure a referee, in line with the guidance in the section above. If they are unable to do so, they can share their Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) with you instead. Where neither option is available, the only other routes are a Prospects Hedd verification or your candidate purchasing verified documents via our Certificates web page.